Category Archives: What Type of Real Estate?

Feb 22

What is Pre-Construction Real Estate Investing?

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The idea of pre-construction investments when it comes to real estate is actually quite a clever way in which many have made millions. The theory is simple really. Invest in a property before when it is in the planning stage. Those who will be building these buildings need money and investors in order to do get the building off the ground. By investing (in many cases basically purchasing options to purchase) in the units, typically condo units in high demand areas, before the ground is broken investors often have the option of investing for pennies on the expected dollar once the building is complete and can re-sell the property at full market value once the building is complete pocketing the difference in the original investment and the asking price.

This is a win-win situation for many builders or ‘owners’ of the property in questions because ‘pre-selling’ the units allows lending agents to have confidence in the viability of the project as a money earner by selling many of the units sight unseen. The benefit to investors is that they are able to purchase at a much lower price pre-construction than afterwards and can sell afterwards at the full market value (or above in some high demand and under saturated areas for real estate).

This style of investing is not nearly as glamorous to some as flipping houses. There are no beast to beauty renovations. There are, however, some things that should be kept in mind while making this type of transaction.

First of all, no real estate venture is ever guaranteed to turn a profit no matter what the glossy little brochures tell you. With the current trends in property sales, this is typically not the best environment for pre-construction investing though these things tend to change on a regular basis and that market could be looking up again in the very near future.

Second, networking is more often than not the best way to break into this particular business. There are all kinds of fly by night would be real estate investors. The ones that manage to last are those that network with other real estate agents as well as those who have specific interests and experience with pre-construction investments. Join local groups in addition to online groups that deal specifically with this sort of investment in order to get more information more quickly. The costs involved might appear daunting at first but they are far less than the costs of getting in over your head by not having a grasp of even the most basic ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of pre-construction real estate investing.

Third, develop a close-knit relationship with a realtor that specializes in this particular type of real estate investing. This could prove to be the most beneficial thing you will ever do in order to insure future success. Be developing the right relationship with the right realtor you can get information on new properties before they make it to the public sector. This puts you in the rare and wonderful position of beating the competition to the punch. This gives you a much better shot at receiving the rock bottom prices that are often missed by waiting too long to make the purchase.

Fourth, be prepared to hold onto the property for a little while if you need to do so. The problem with pre-construction investing is that there are no guarantees that when the time comes you will have been able to ‘seal the deal’. Things come up even when you have a buyer that is willing and eager to make the purchase. In other words, there are times when you will need to hold onto the property for a short while and sometimes as a long-term investment. Some options in the case of long-term holds would include renting the property out to vacationers if it is in a high demand tourist area. You can use your realtor to help with that. This allows the property to be earning some income until the sale can be made. Others decided to hold onto the property as a personal vacation home for themselves, friends, and family. In the end, the important thing is that there is a “Plan B” for the property should the deal fall through and you are left paying the monthly note.

Pre-construction real estate investing may not have the ‘name in lights’ appeal that other types of investing carry but it does provide a viable investment style that has the potential to bring in significant profits. The name of the game when it comes to investing is profits so keep this in mind when considering your investment options. This is one of the forms of investing that requires (in most cases) the least amount of capital up front.

Feb 03

Real Estate In Italy

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The visual appeal throughout Italy is something that simply cannot be denied. Italy is a stunning nation, with beautiful lakes, mountains, and ancient cities that are teeming with history. Italy is known as a very romantic nation, with plenty of romantic appeal and activities for your entire family. It also boasts a perfect climate with warm waters that are graced by the Mediterranean Sea.

Throughout Italy, there are no restrictions on foreign ownership on real estate, meaning that buying and selling is pretty much a straightforward process. The first thing you should do however, is to get yourself an independent lawyer, one who will work on your behalf. The lawyer can translate any necessary documents into English so you can understand them. He will also act on your behalf, ensuring that you get a great price for the property you are interested in.

If you are planning to purchase a home in Italy to move to permanently, you may want to sort out your residency status first. Doing so will save you a lot of money in purchase taxes, simply because you will be paying Italian taxes. Residency status in Italy holds several key benefits, which includes property taxes.

There are several real estate agents to choose from in Italy, which makes it in your best interest to contact some of them with your requirements. Doing so will help you get a better prospective on the market and determine what you can purchase for your money. If you’ve never been to Italy before, you should always allow yourself ample time to get used to the area and check out some of what Italy has to offer.

There are many delights throughout Italy, although you shouldn’t let the romance or dream of living in this fine nation steer you away from your task at hand. You should always think about the property you are interested in purchasing, and listen to your real estate agent. If he or she tells you that a property isn’t worth the purchase, you should listen to what your agent has to say and avoid purchasing a property due to the location.

If you plan to buy rural properties or property that needs renovation, you should be sure to ask the necessary questions, such as the title and deed, access to the property, boundaries, and whether or not the property needs to be surveyed and appraised before you can make an offer. If the property needs renovation, you should always have it estimated. Building expenses in Italy are very high, and they can easily spiral out of control. Before you commit to anything, you should always know your expenses and where you stand with finances.

Once you have found a property that you are interested in, you can make an offer. Keep in mind that if the offer is accepted, it will be valid for 2 weeks, while the preliminary contracts are being created. Once you get the contracts, you should have your lawyer look them over. You’ll need to pay a deposit as well, if your offer is accepted. At that point, you will pretty much own the property and will pay on it until you have it paid for.

Whether you are looking for a second home, vacation home, or just another property, Italy is a great place to invest in real estate. There is always something going on here, and always plenty of romance in the air. For a honeymoon, Italy can’t be beat. If you buy a home here – you’ll find Italy to be a nation like no other.

Jan 31

Miami Real Estate

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Sunny Miami Florida is without a doubt one of the hottest real estate markets in the world. Over the years, Miami has noticed a lot of changes in it’s real estate market. Miami Florida has always been known for it’s pristine beaches and activities, making it perfect for a vacation home or a permanent home for anyone wanting to live close to one of the best cities in the world.

In the past, Southern Florida was known to be a realtor’s dream of a real estate market with extremely explosive growth potential. During the beginning of the year 2000, Florida noticed some high rises in real estate. In most areas, including Sunny Isle Beach, the prices of real estate went up as much as 250% in some areas. This was a drastic change in price, making real estate in Florida very hard to afford.

This change in price let the world know that Florida was very sought after for real estate. Although the prices were very high, this also changed the entire economic structure throughout Florida, resulting in more businesses, work opportunities, and a lot more income. Even though it brought more opportunities, the economic growth also helped to make Florida a very expensive city to reside in.

Miami Florida is the second largest city in the state, making it a great choice for real estate. These days, the homes here aren’t very expensive. If you are interested in renting a home or apartment here, you may find it to be moderate to high priced. Miami has long been known for sunshine and fun, which is one of the reasons why so many people decide to purchase real estate there.

Although the past has noticed a lot of interest in real estate for Miami, the future will always be in question. Homes and housing units will always be built here, although real estate agents have found it increasingly difficult to sell homes. Even though some homes will sell a lot faster than others, there are some homes that remain on the market for months and months at a time.

As you may have guessed, Miami Florida has noticed a bit of a drop in real estate price and transactions over the years. Although past years have noticed Miami real estate to skyrocket in both price and appeal, the future makes many wonder. A lot of areas here are harder to sell now days, with many sellers having to lower their prices just to make a sell.

In the future, Miami real estate will continue to be popular, although the trend of high and low will always be there. Miami is still one of the best cities in the world to live in, no matter how much the real estate trend fluctuates.

Jan 30

Lease to Own Real Estate

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Credit problems plague people across the globe. These problems can lead to many other problems not limited to difficulty purchasing vehicles, getting jobs, opening checking accounts, and purchasing or renting a home. For those who are experiencing credit problems hope seems like a long lost commodity when it comes to the very American dream of owning a home of one’s own.

The good news is that there are some savvy investors around that are willing to take the risk on those who have had credit problems but are attempting to get their lives back in order. The bad news is that this good will often comes at a rather high price to the consumers. Getting into trouble with credit takes a while from which to recover. For many the process is long and filled with pitfalls and missteps along the way. For those that are living the nightmare of poor credit there are times in which the situation must seem hopeless.

For this reason investors that offer lease to own real estate to those with less than spectacular credit are often viewed as saviors on the one hand and villains on the other. However, they are taking a risk that others are unwilling to take on a person that has proven not to be the best credit risk in the business. In other words, many would find that they are justified by charging a higher price or interest rate than traditional lending institutions will charge. After all, it is their money that is on the line if the lessee decides to default on the contract. It is also their money that will be required to make any repairs that will be needed if eviction becomes a necessary conclusion.

For investors who are interested in ‘buy and hold’ investing this is one way of making that system work in their favor. Many times the ‘buyers’ will find another property after a couple of years and will have essentially rented the property for a specified amount of time. At other times they will seek alternative financing once they have been able to straighten out their credit situations. Either way there are many occasions when the property is returned to the investor and has turned a relatively decent profit while holding those who took some degree of ‘pride of ownership’ in the property during that time rather than ordinary renters who often have little or no regard for the condition of the landlord’s property.

There is more than one way that a lease to own deal can work. The most common however, is that there is a specified amount of time typically 2-5 years in which those that are leasing the property can live in the property with a portion of the monthly lease being applied towards a down payment for the property once they are able to get traditional financing. If a twenty percent down payment is achieved during that time the odds of them being approved for a loan are greatly improved. If they (being the lessees) combine this opportunity with serious efforts to improve their credit scores then there should be no problem achieving this.

As a real estate investor this situation is so much more attractive than renters for many reasons. First of all, the maintenance in these cases becomes the problem of the lessees rather than your problem, you have ‘renters’ that are hoping to have ownership of the property in time, and you can charge a little more each month for rent in order to cover the money being applied to the down payment on the property.

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Jan 26

How to Find a Good Real Estate Investment Property

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There are many ways in which you can find a great property for your real estate investment. The problem lies in the fact that many would be investors aren’t exactly certain what specific types of investment they wish to make. Unfortunately, the type of investing will greatly affect the type of property that will best suit your real estate needs. This article focuses on finding a great property for the purpose of flipping or rehabbing a property.

Seek Bargains

This is absolutely a necessary step when it comes to finding properties with excellent potential as flipped properties. Bargains are often sold at bargain prices for a reason. The good news is that many of these reasons are purely cosmetic and quite simple to fix. Finding a realtor that is willing to work with you for lower prices, bargain properties offer an excellent place to begin. If he or she is a knowledgeable professional you should have access to properties that would have been unavailable to you had you continued the search without the assistance of a professional.

Another great place to find bargains of this nature is to search through foreclosures, auctions, and homes that are preparing to enter into foreclosure. While not always the case, there are many in these situations that are willing to be a bit more flexible with the price. Never offer full asking price first. Start low and negotiate up. This may lose some properties but in the end it will be a much more profitable venture if you can get the properties you want for a smaller investment.

Know the Neighborhood

Before placing a bid on a potential property for flipping you need to learn as much about the neighborhood as possible. You do not want to place a family home in the middle of a retirement neighborhood, nor do you want to place a potential bachelor pad in that type of area. You also want to avoid areas that are entering a state of decline, as the rehab efforts are unlikely to achieve the profits you are hoping to receive. Instead, look for bargains in areas that are approaching some sort of renewal or have very low crime and excellent growth potential.

If you are rehabbing a home that is meant to appeal to families make sure the neighborhood is safe, has a relatively low crime rate, access to good schools, and entertainment opportunities that may appeal to families. These things will affect the price you are likely to be able to expect once the rehab efforts have been completed as well as the type of renovations you will need to perform on the property. Buying a property in an area that you know nothing about is like buying a property without an inspection-which brings me to my next point.

Get a Thorough Inspection

This is one of the most important steps in the process of selecting the perfect property for your real estate investment needs. A qualified inspection will prepare you for any problems that may arise during the course of your work on the home. These are things that will affect the amount of money you should offer on the home, the amount of money you will need to invest in repairs, and the amount of money you can expect once all is said and done.

Failing to have a complete and proper inspection can lead to disaster when the renovations begin costing extra money and time as efforts are undone in order to get to the root of the problems as you go. There are very few things that can save you the time or money that having a decent inspection can manage to save. Inspections can also make you aware of any structural problems, code problems, and other problems that may mean the difference between this property offering a possible profit or a probable loss. It is much better to be armed with this knowledge before ever making an offer on the property in question.

Realize That You do not Need to Buy the First Property You See

This is an important thing to remember. If the first property doesn’t speak to you, move on until you find one that does. This process is part science and part inspiration. If you are uninspired by a property it is unlikely that this property will suddenly take on a life of its own in order to suit your real estate investment needs. Keep searching until you find the property that meets all of your needs in order to find the perfect property for your first or your fiftieth flip.

Jan 11

Cheap Homes

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When it comes to real estate, it’s really hard to beat a cheap home. Cheap homes are very affordable, and ideal for those on a budget. For real estate agents, these types of homes represent a way to buy a home at a low price, build it up some more, then sale it for a large price. Making money with real estate is easy to do – no matter how you look at it.

Although you can find cheap homes throughout the United States, some will obviously be better than others. Some are in great neighborhoods, giving you plenty to see and plenty to do all around you. On the other hand, most towns that offer the cheapest homes normally have a bad situation when it comes to the job market. They can be great to retire to or settle down in if you own a business, although they aren’t great if you need a job. Internet marketers and writers are finding these areas, are flocking to them at a very fast pace.

You can also save quite a bit of money by buying a home that is less expensive, but still fits your needs. What this means, is buying a home in the inexpensive areas of your town, or buying a home that is cheap in price. You shouldn’t be focused on one type of home or neighborhood, but instead look at your available options and compare prices.

Keep in mind that buying cheap homes doesn’t necessarily mean buying a run down place or buying your home in a bad part of town. You can get a cheap home in a great neighborhood, if you weight your options accordingly. If you shop around and look at different areas, you might find yourself very surprised at just how many homes are available at cheap prices.

Before you purchase a home, you can save a lot of money if you know how to negotiate with the real estate agent. Although a home may have a higher price than you are willing to pay, you can shave quite a bit of the price off through negotiating. If you learn just a few of the simple techniques of negotiating, you can save a lot of money. Each and every day, hundreds of people get cheap homes by negotiating with real estate agents.

In some cases, you can end up paying the full price of a home and still end up spending less than someone else might spend. Although price has an impact, financing is also an area that can help to make a home more affordable. If you get a low interest rate, you’ll save a lot of money when you buy the home. There are several ways that you can save money through your finance options, which is why you should always research what’s available to you before you buy.

Before you decide to buy a home, you should always think things through and be sure to look around different areas and neighborhoods. Even though there are many cheap homes out there, you can get just as good of a deal through negotiating. Most cheap homes sell very quick, which is why you should always be on the lookout for one. When you find a cheap home that fits your needs, you should act on it. Contact the agent, take a tour of the home, then decide if the price and the features are indeed what you’ve been looking for. If it isn’t – simply forget about the house and start looking for another one.

Jan 09

Buying Unfinished Homes

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Unfinished homes present a great way to save a lot of money and get yourself a new home in the process. If you buy an unfinished home, you can keep your monthly mortgage payment low and also lower your initial investment. You may also be able to buy a larger foundation size as well, which you can easily add on to and save money in the process.

Normally, unfinished starter homes leave the upstairs area unfinished. The question here, is just how much equity you want to put into an unfinished area. Sometimes though, an unfinished home may leave the roofing, framing, plumbing, or electrical aspects unfinished. Before you make a purchase, you should always decide how much money you have to finish what needs to be finished.

If the home you are looking at has plans for a garage, you can save thousands if you decide not to go with the garage. On the other hand, if there is another attached room that is planned to go onto the house, you can save just as much if you decide to forgo it. There are always ways that you can save money just by looking at the plans. Unfinished homes may have other planned on additions as well, in which you can save a lot of money just by leaving them out.

The is something that you should always keep in mind. When builders acquire a piece of property that they plan to build a home on, they will do everything they can do make as much money as possible on their homes. You might be able to get them to agree to some of these ideas, although they probably won’t agree to all of them. Building homes can be a very profitable business – which is why most companies like to build their homes exactly as the plans call for.

When looking at unfinished homes, you also need to look at what banks are willing to accept. If you are planning to get a mortgage, most banks will need to ensure that the home is up to local codes and in living condition. What this means, is that there will need to be a living room, bedroom, and other rooms finished. If the home is lacking quite a bit in terms of being unfinished, most banks won’t give you a mortgage.

Most banks are also known to turn down unfinished home mortgages that they feel will have trouble selling in the event that you default. Normally, the entire downstairs area will need to be finished, along with most of the landscaping. You might be able to do some of it yourself and save money, although in most cases the home builder will need to do a majority of the topsoil and grass just to satisfy the bank. Banks have strict requirements when it comes to unfinished homes, which is why you should always check with your bank before you invest in an unfinished home.

As most of us already know, buying an unfinished home provides an excellent way to get into the housing market and get your very own home. Unfinished homes also allow potential buyers the chance to grow into their home along with their family. If you are interested in saving money, you should be sure to talk to the builder. This way, you can go over the plans and decide what doesn’t need to be there. In most cases you can save a lot of money and still get a home that will provide years and years of memories for yourself and your entire family.

Jan 07

Buying Real Estate Foreclosures

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When looking for a home for you and your family you will come across all kinds of deals, bargains, and so-called values along the way. If price is a very tangible object for you and your real estate investment then you might seriously want to consider the value of foreclosures. If you are hoping to invest in real estate in order to turn a profit then you may also wish to consider these properties that are often sold well below the ordinary value of the property because they are in varying degrees of disrepair.

Foreclosures are properties that have been taken back by the lenders because the previous owners were unable to continue making payments on the property. Being that these homes were often owned by those in financial distress and may have been empty for some time before being sold, chances are that the foreclosure homes being sold at any given time are in some degree of disrepair. The shabbiness of many of these properties is one of the factors that keeps the prices down. Another is the fact that the lenders are essentially attempting to recoup their investment in the property. For this reason they are often willing to take less than the value of the property if that is what is owed on the property.

Why are these properties often in a state of disrepair? Truthfully, there are many reasons but the primary culprit in this situation is money. Obviously the owners of the home were struggling to make the payments or the home would not be in the state of foreclosure. If the notes on the property were difficult to begin with it makes perfect sense that other issues such as leaking roofs, shabby carpeting, or plumbing maintenance would take a distant second in priority to making the house payment.

At the same time, there are those who are bitter about loosing their homes. As sad as the situation may be some add insult to injury by damaging these properties intentionally. These homeowners feel they have nothing left to loose and if they cannot have their property hole then the lenders should not as well. While this is by no means the way to go there are very many who choose this path over other options.

The fact is that their loss in these situations is actually your gain. The damage they do to the property is often not terribly expensive to repair though it can be quite bothersome. Your willingness to do the work in order to create a beautiful home for you and your family or as an investment can often translate to big savings at the closing table or when negotiating the price of the property. Foreclosures can allow families to buy larger homes in better neighborhoods than they would ordinarily be able to afford. They can also provide a fabulous kick-start to a property investment portfolio.

Despite common claims and Internet advertisements, you do not need to buy a list in order to find foreclosed real estate in your area. You simply need to procure the services of a competent realtor and let him or her know that your intentions are to purchase a foreclosed property or some other property that is selling well below market value. You might be amazed at the wealth of information and assistance your realtor can provide not only in finding excellent foreclosures but also when it comes to procuring financing for some of the more creatively damaged foreclosures you may run across at insane bargain prices.